Part of the series: Experiencing Saskatchewan
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| A crooked tree |
The Crooked Bush is a small grove of aspen trees that grows in... spirals, for lack of a better description.
Aspens, by nature, grow straight, but for unexplained reasons (e.g. aliens pee-ing there), this particular grove has not a single straight aspen in it.
I was told about this natural phenomenon by some of my Saskatchewan co-workers, and it is one of the natural wonders of Saskatchewan, according to
The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List.
And so, on the July long weekend in the summer of 2012, I made sure to stop there on my way home from visiting friends in Edmonton.
The book gives very specific directions to any of the places it recommends you visit, and my GPS decided to cooperate with me, so finding the Crooked Bush was relatively easy, considering all I had to go by was a set of coordinates and directions along unmarked grid roads.
From North Battleford, I headed off to the east as the #11 Hwy headed south, and I found myself travelling along one of the prettiest roads I've been on since coming to Saskatchewan. It dips and curves through valleys and around a few lakes, and after diligently following the directions from my GPS and the arrows pointing to the Crooked Bush at strategic corners (i.e. the ones where you have to turn), I arrived at the Crooked Bush.
Which is, quite literally, about the size of a front lawn surrounded by a circular drive. There is an outhouse, a picnic table, and a sign informing you of the history of the Crooked Bush with an invitation to wander through along the boardwalk that circles through (and at one point under) the trees.
After several hours on the road, I made use of the facilities (Note: if anyone reading this decides to do the same, bring your own T.P.), sprayed myself liberally with mosquito repellent, and ventured into the bush along the boardwalk. It was quite nice in there - I tried really hard to focus and see if it was "eerily silent" inside the bush, but I didn't notice that - I was too busy trying to follow trees from root to leaf - and that was very difficult! Trees sprout out of the ground, then take a 90 degree turn before curving over a bump or around another tree and then turning back on themselves... eventually ending up with leaves possibly pointing to the sky, but more likely hanging back down to the ground.
After spending almost an hour wandering through the bush, and just taking a break from the drive, I hopped back into the car and headed back to Regina. I happened to pass Tree road on the way, but the Big Tree will have to wait for another day.
For anyone that hasn't seen The Crooked Bush, is in the area of either Saskatoon or North Battleford, and has a couple of spare hours on a nice day, take a look. For myself, the only reason I will drive past it again is to see the landscape along the road getting to The Crooked Bush.
